Friday, 6 February 2009

Joe Kidd 1972

Clint Eastwood stars as Joe Kidd, a cryptic stranger who arrives in the New Mexican town of Sinola, where Mexican bandito/revolutionary Luis Chama (John Saxon) has organized a peasant revolt against the local landowners, who are throwing the poor off land that rightfully belongs to them. When a posse — financed by wealthy landowner Frank Harlan (Robert Duvall) — is formed to capture Luis, Kidd is invited to join but prefers to remain neutral. Harlan persists and Kidd finally relents when he realizes that Luis's band has raided his own ranch and attacked one of the workers. The posse capture five Mexicans hostages and threaten to kill them unless Luis surrenders to them.

Below: How Joe Kidd would have opened when seen in UK cinemas with its original AA certificateClick below for original Trailer

Joe Kidd 1972 this is a rare German Texas western novel that uses Joe Kidd artwork on the front coverJoe Kidd 1972 UK Original Publicity promotion BookJoe Kidd 1972 U.S. Lobby set x 8 14 x 11Joe Kidd 1972 U.S. Original press bookSome great images collected from around the world:A couple of rare pictures with Director John Sturges:Below: The Joe Kidd U.S. 1 Sheet poster 41x27The Joe Kidd U.S. Insert posterBelow: The Superb French Grande poster, for me, the best designed poster art for Joe KiddBelow: From Japan the Joe Kidd B2 posterBelow: The unusual Joe Kidd Polish posterBelow: The Spanish 1 sheet poster for Joe KiddBelow: Joe Kidd Australian Daybill posterBelow: The Italian locandina poster for Joe KiddBelow: Joe Kidd Italian 2 Sheet poster 39x55Below: Joe Kidd Original Italian Fotobusta set

Below: Joe Kidd (Universal 1974) Original Czech Poster (22.75 X 32.5)Here's a great set of rare shots I found on the webThese 2 bw shots show Clint signing autographs for the locals and there seems to be a card on the table which appears to be dated 21st Dec 1971 (as far as I can make out)Below: Here's a very rare Original Joe Kidd theatre StandeeBelow: The Japanese version of the LaserdiscBelow: Original stills

For perhaps its first half-hour, John Sturges's new Western, "Joe Kidd," looks surprisingly good. It seems restrained, relaxed, unfashionably out of the current mode in its commitment to people and horses rather than to sadistic monsters and machines. Nothing remarkable, but modestly decent—a feeling that persists, with continually diminishing assurance, almost until the climax, when everything is thrown away in a flash of false theatrics, foolish symbolism and what I suspect is sloppy editing.

That "everything" is indeed a fairly conventional story about land rights in New Mexico at the turn of the century. There is an evil land baron (Robert Duvall), a leader of the people (John Saxon), a beautiful woman of high principle (Stella Garcia) and an enigmatic loner (Clint Eastwood) who really determines the action. In a very mild way, the film supports the rights of a dispossessed Mexican minority. But no matter what the particular sympathies, politics in Westerns tends toward autocracy, and "Joe Kidd" ends with Clint Eastwood as judge, jury, and executioner in a killing that is of course supposed to change the moral nature of the world.

Like so many Western heroes, Joe Kidd figures even in his own time as an anachronism — powerful through his instincts mainly, and through the ability of everybody else, whether in rage or gratitude, to recognize in him a quality that must be called virtue. The great value of Clint Eastwood in such a position is that he guards his virtue very cannily, and in the society of "Joe Kidd," where the men still manage to tip their hats to the ladies, but just barely, all the Eastwood effects and mannerisms suggest a carefully preserved authenticity.

I think it is a very good performance in context. Ultimately, it is the only real point of interest to "Joe Kidd," and especially interesting because in recent years the Eastwood point of view has appeared mostly as ancillary to the larger vision of the director Don Siegel ("Dirty Harry," "Beguiled," etc.). What emerges here is a kind of authoritative normalcy, an actor's gift to an ordinary film that at least gives him reasonable space to breathe.

"Joe Kidd," which also offers the good cinematography of Bruce Surtees, and a quite notable collection of bad guys, beginning with Don Stroud, who are set up only to be put down by Clint Eastwood, opened yesterday at three Trans-Lux theaters.

The Cast

JOE KIDD directed by John Sturges; written by Elmore Leonard; director of photography, Bruce Surtees; film editor, Ferris Webster; music by Lalo Schifrin; produced by Sidney Beckerman; released by Universal Pictures.

At the Trans-Lux East Theater, Third Avenue and 58th Street; Trans-Lux West Theater, Broadway at 49th Street and the Trans-Lux 85th Street Theater, at Madison Avenue.

Running time: 88 minutes.

This film is rated PG.

Joe Kidd . . . . . Clint Eastwood

Frank Harlan . . . . . Robert Duvall

Luis Chama . . . . . John Saxon

Lamarr . . . . . Don Stroud

Helen Sanchez . . . . . Stella Garcia

Mingo . . . . . James Wainwright

Roy . . . . . Paul Koslo

Mitchell . . . . . Gregory Walcott

Elma . . . . . Lynne Marta

Below: Writer Elmore Leonard on the Joe Kidd publicity trail

Below Swedish VHS cover for Joe Kidd which seems to include Bronco Billy

US Video Sleeve

Below: Rare Joe Kidd double page advert from Universal

Below: A nice new shot that recently surfaced of Clint on location during the filming of Joe Kidd